Geek of Oz

There’s no doubt that director Steve McQueen makes confronting and thought-provoking cinema - his first two films tackled some pretty intense subject matter: the IRA hunger strikes (Hunger) and the perils of sex addiction (Shame). For his third film, 12 Years a Slave, McQueen adapts Solomon Northup’s 1853 account of his abduction and sale into slavery. This film not only lays bare the machinery of slavery, it examines the people who engaged with it. Only a few films each year leave a lasting impression on me and this film is certainly one of them. 12 Years a Slave could very well become one of the definitive films addressing slavery.  Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free black man. He’s married with two children and is an accomplished violinist. After accepting an offer to play violin with a group of travelling performers, he is abducted, imprisoned and shipped away in the dead of night. Solomon is plunged into a life that he couldn’t possibly have fathomed; one of...

After a much-publicised production debacle, Marc Forster’s World War Z defies the odds, resulting in an entertaining, if flawed, zombie flick. For several years, this graphic novel adaptation lived in limbo. Many suitors have attempted to get it off the ground and failed, leaving it floundering in pre-production hell, until Brad Pitt swooped in and picked it up via his production company Plan B. Once the production began, the internet was abuzz with rumours of script issues, re-shoots and unease on set, which usually forewarns of a sub-standard film. Ultimately, the re-worked final product has its fair share of issues but thankfully manages to scrape a pass.

Thanks to our friends at Paramount Pictures Australia, we're giving our readers the chance of a lifetime! We're giving 10 lucky Geek of Oz readers the chance to win a double pass to the Australian premiere of the upcoming zombie blockbuster, WORLD WAR Z. But things just get better, Paramount have confirmed that director Marc Forster and Brad Pitt will be walking the red carpet in Sydney at the Australian premiere. See Brad Pitt walk the red carpet in Sydney on June 9th at the Australian Premiere of World War Z. For all the latest World War Z Australian Premiere information follow @ParamountAU on Twitter .

After hearing so much love for the World War Z novel by Max Brooks, this latest trailer has be rather excited! If the finished product is a intense as the trailer it'll be an excellent edge of your seat action/horror film especially with director Marc Foster at the helm! The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop a pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself. Check out the brand new trailer and brilliant poster after the jump!

I recently had the pleasure of seeing Dreamworks latest animated extravaganza, Megamind starring the voices of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey and Jonah Hill and written and directed by Tom McGrath, writer and director of Madagascar 1 and 2. Set for release in Australia on the 9th of December I was lucky enough to get an invite to an advanced screening.

This is a special announcement for all of our readers in Sydney Australia. Paramount Pictures are holding a special "Blue" carpet advanced screening in Sydney for Dreamworks latest animated feature "Megamind". I was lucky enough to see this movie last night and it was fantastic. Utterly enjoyable from start to finish. Stay tuned for an upcoming review here at The Geek of Oz.

The good folks at Paramount Pictures have supplied us with a couple of clips from the upcoming Megamind animated feature by Dreamworks SKG. To say that I'm looking forward to this movie would be an understatement. I just watched How to Train Your Dragon on Blu Ray and if Megamind lives up to that animation standard it is bound to be mind boggling. I hate to say it but Dreamworks has really hit it's stride, so much so that I'd have to say that they are seriously in contention to knock Pixar off their throne as the kings of CG (I'm sure Katzenberg would love to hear that!)